If you haven’t heard the buzzwords “the candidate experience” this year, we would be shocked. The idea of the candidate experience is tied to the skills gap shortage; a smaller candidate pool means companies must work harder to woo fresh talent. In 2020, the candidate experience was one of the top workforce trends, perhaps rivaling only the virtual interview as the most impactful during the pandemic. How can companies step up their hiring process and improve their candidate experience this year?

How to Create a More Positive Candidate Experience

The latest data shows that companies are working hard to create a more engaging candidate experience this year. Hiring teams are working on three particular areas to help improve the candidate experience. They include:

  1. Increasing their speed when responding to candidates. This, of course, improves the time to hire. But it also eliminates those feelings of submitting a resume into the black hole of the application process, where it takes weeks or even months for the candidate to hear back from the employer—if at all. This means employers must find a way to shift through the piles of resumes more quickly while automating their initial response to applicants that acknowledges their efforts to apply. Texting and chatbots can also help with communication that often leaves something to be desired from the candidate’s perspective. All of this can engage the candidate while speeding up the hiring process.
  2. Increasing virtual interviews is another way to both engage the candidate and increase the time to hire. Switching to virtual interviews was a necessity during COVID lockdowns, but the data now shows that employers and candidates agree this speeds up hiring in a positive way. One survey showed 96% of participants said virtual interviews improve the candidate’s experience, and 41% say they’ll use a combination of in-person and virtual interviews even after COVID-19 is over. Forbes says, “The rise of on-demand video interviews may signal the end of the traditional phone screening process.” Candidates say video interviews make them feel more in control of the interview process.
  3. Diversity and inclusion create a better candidate experience. Many companies are planning on increasing their recruiting networks to hire from a more diverse candidate pool. Interestingly, computer automation allows for more candidate diversity. Creating standardized assessments to eliminate unconscious biases, along with adding the increased communication that automation allows, are all ways to improve the experience of the candidates you come in contact with.

Using Technology to Improve Candidate Experience

The technology you leverage can help you engage every candidate with a positive experience. Exelare has the kind of professional software that can help your hiring team create a better candidate experience. Hiring teams can automate basic workflows and communicate quickly and clearly both internally and externally with candidates. From one smart automated hub, your hiring teams can reach candidates in the ways they prefer, whether it’s text, email, or phone. Each candidate will have a clear rating system internally which will make it easy for multiple members of your hiring team to share information. This speeds up the hiring process, creating a more consistent and pleasurable candidate experience.

Find out why Exelare is a top choice for businesses like yours by taking a demo of our software. We can improve your hiring process. Call on us.